Neighbourly Notes – 28 June 2018

AT YOUR SERVICE: The members of the Port Alfred Round Table held their annual Winter Knights programme last week and, after collecting clothing and food from donations made at various businesses around town, they met with their partners for a get-together around the fire pit at their clubhouse behind the ski-boat club. From the left are JP de Klerk, chairman Dominicue Averbuch and his wife Helen, Judy Horak, Jacques Scheepers, Jess Marais, Frikkie Coetzer, Melissa du Randt, Brendan Marais and Julius Horak. Picture: ROB KNOWLES

THERE are no special events happening this weekend but today (Thursday), Classic Blast is on at the Port Alfred High School hall. This is a concert by the KwaZulu-Natal Youth Orchestra and promises to be an exciting performance this evening. There is also a matinee performance. Something else that could be of interest is the presentation on new designs for the Krantz, Duck Pond and West and East Beaches and the small boat harbour. That’s happening at the Halyards Hotel on Thursday evening. And, if you’re feeling a bit peckish, why not get yourself to the Port Alfred Country Club for a curry on Friday evening?

THE municipal dump at Port Alfred is soon to be fully operational and that is a big relief to us all as the state of the dump, the constant fires with their toxic smoke and the potential for disease was a constant worry to those living anywhere near the dump. And, of course, with the closure of the Bushman’s dump all the refuse from around Ndlambe was being brought to Port Alfred or, even worse, a number of illegal dumps were being established to cope with the waste. Thanks are due to Mphele Engineers as well as Viv Dell and his team for the quick and efficient service and also to the Ndlambe officials who sanctioned the work to be done. It’s about time, and let’s never again forget the importance of a functional dump site.

LAST Thursday was the winter solstice, and witnessed over 200 people saunter (shiver) down to East Beach to take part in the Port Alfred High School Polar Plunge in aid of the pool at the school. For R50 you got a coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) and a breakfast bun with bacon and egg plus a certificate to show that you participated (which might also be used to confirm your mental state at a later date, so be careful who you show it to). But, it was a brilliant event and one that we must repeat until it becomes a tradition of the people of the Kowie every winter solstice. Well done to Laura Guest on a great event.

TOMORROW (Friday) is Asteroid Day, recognised by the United Nations but hardly mentioned anywhere else. Yet there is a very real need for everyone to recognise the importance of watching our skies for objects from space approaching the Earth. It is celebrated on the anniversary of the Siberian Tunguska event that took place on June 30 1908, the most harmful known asteroid-related event on Earth in recent history. And, just in case you think that this is just another pie-in-the-sky idea, consider that the Chelyabinsk meteor that exploded over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk and was a superbolide (very bright event in the sky) caused by an approximately 20-metre near-Earth asteroid that entered Earth’s atmosphere with a speed of about 20 kilometres per second. This was a fairly small asteroid, and it approached the Earth from the wrong direction, from around the sun, so we didn’t even see it until it was right on top of us. And we are aware that there are many millions of these asteroids (and much, much bigger ones) lurking in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that could, due to an impact with another asteroid or the pull of Jupiter’s gravity, come careering off its normal orbit and on a new one that crosses Earth’s orbit, virtually at any time.

MAY the following businesses continue to be successful as they celebrate another anniversary. Best wishes for the future to The Water Bar in Van der Riet Street.

WITH last year’s figures in brackets to compare the market trading was as such with R13.57 to the dollar (R13.01), R17.92 to the pound (R16.69) and R15.82 to the euro (R14.79). Commodities such as gold, was $1 258.12 per fine ounce ($1 252.55), platinum was $872 ($921.50) and Brent crude oil at $76.66 per barrel ($46.63).

SPECIAL thoughts and prayers are with all those folk who are not well, who are having or have already had tests, operations and treatments. “Sterkte” to Roy Potter, Andrew de Vries, Emilene Bruwer, Jenny Groenewald, Mark Price.

ANOTHER icon of the area has passed away. Dot Fetherstonhaugh, who was instrumental in the founding of Cubs and Scouts in Port Alfred, and selflessly dedicated her time and energy to the education and recreation of young boys and men, left us with a legacy that will be remembered by many for years to come. Her dedication was apparent in everything she did, but her influence, her ability to get things done and to ensure that everyone else participated, were legendary. Having suffered from cancer for the last period of her life, and despite being in constant pain, she still managed to organise the Scouts centenary celebrations for the area last year, as well as fun activities for the boys (and, latterly, girls) including sea scouting and water awareness programmes. There is no doubt that Auntie Dotty will be missed by all who knew her. Her funeral service will take place at St Paul’s Anglican Church on Saturday at 3pm. Rest now Dot. We will miss you.

THOUGHT for the week: “An inevitable – though often ignored – dimension of the quest for wholeness is that we must embrace what we dislike or find shameful about ourselves as well as what we are confident and proud of.”